Google is cracking down on mobile pop-up ads by knocking down the search-result position of websites that use them. The National Labor Relations Board decided a social media policy that Chipotle had in place for its employees violates federal labor law. A group of lawmakers plans to introduce legislation that would criminalize revenge porn—explicit images… Continue Reading

Social media has upended a number of industries. Is Wall Street next? Facebook is getting into the video game live-streaming business. Steven Avery’s defense attorney is keeping her 163,000 Twitter followers abreast of her ongoing defense work on behalf of the “Making a Murderer” documentary subject, and some lawyers think it’s a bad idea. Five quick and… Continue Reading

Deluged with an unprecedented amount of information available for analysis, companies in just about every industry are discovering increasingly sophisticated ways to make market observations, predictions and evaluations. Big Data can help companies make decisions ranging from which candidates to hire to which consumers should receive a special promotional offer. As a powerful tool for… Continue Reading

The Newspaper Association of America has filed a first-of-its-kind complaint with the FTC over certain ad blocking technologies. Is it “Internet” or “internet”? The Associated Press is about to change the capitalization rule. Lots of people criticized Instagram’s new logo, but, according to a design-analysis app, it’s much better than the old logo at doing… Continue Reading

Social media has allowed aspiring authors, musicians, filmmakers and other artists to publish their works and develop a fan base without having to wait to be discovered by a publishing house, record label or talent agency. And that seems to have made at least modest celebrity easier to achieve. The financial rewards that we usually… Continue Reading

Social media is all about innovation, so it is no surprise that social media marketers are always looking for innovative ways—such as courting social media “influencers” and using native advertising—to promote products and services to customers and potential customers. But, as the retailer Lord & Taylor recently learned, the legal rules that govern traditional… Continue Reading

Defense lawyers who checked out the Facebook page of a plaintiff suing their client can be prosecuted for attorney misconduct, New Jersey judge rules. Norwegian band changes its name to avoid “social media censorship.” Can public agencies control their employees’ social media posts? Google has complete discretion over whether or not to grant “right to… Continue Reading

The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award-winning guide to the law and business of social media. In this edition, we offer tips for a successful—and legal—advertising campaign; we examine a New York State Appellate Division opinion significantly limiting a personal-injury-case defendant’s access to the… Continue Reading

The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award-winning guide to the law and business of social media, we offer practical tips to help ensure the enforceability of website terms of use; we discuss the FTC’s ongoing efforts to enforce disclosure obligations in social media advertising; we examine… Continue Reading

In a new report, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) declines to call for new laws but makes clear that it will continue to use its existing tools it to aggressively police unfair, deceptive—or otherwise illegal—uses of big data. Businesses that conduct big data analytics, or that use the results of such analysis, should familiarize themselves with… Continue Reading

“Native advertising”—ads that may blur the distinction between advertising and editorial, video or other content—has been a hot topic in recent years for both marketers and regulators. It is popular with marketers because it is apparently an effective advertising model. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), on the other hand, contends that it may be deceptive when… Continue Reading

In an age of explosive growth for social media and declining TV viewership numbers, companies are partnering with so-called “influencers” to help the companies grow their brands. Popular users of Instagram, Vine, YouTube and other social media sites have gained celebrity status, generating millions of views, impressions and “likes” with every upload. Capitalizing on the… Continue Reading

Cross-device tracking is a hot new issue for regulators. Companies engaged in the practice should take note of two recent developments. On November 16, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a workshop on the issue and, perhaps not coincidentally, on the same day the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) addressed the applicability of its interest-based… Continue Reading

The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award-winning guide to the law and business of social media, we highlight five key social media law issues to address with your corporate clients; we discuss when social media posts are discoverable in litigation; we identify six important considerations in… Continue Reading

In December 2014, we noted that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) settlement with advertising firm Deutsch LA, Inc. was a clear signal to companies that advertise through social media that they need to comply with the disclosure requirements of Section 5 of the FTC Act. On September 2, 2015, the FTC announced a settlement along… Continue Reading

The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award-winning guide to the law and business of social media, we present a “grand unifying theory” of today’s leading technologies and the legal challenges these technologies raise; we discuss whether hashtags can be protected under trademark law; we explore the… Continue Reading

In law school, everybody learns the adage that hard cases make bad law. When it comes to the Federal Trade Commission, a better aphorism might be, “easy cases make new law.” The FTC’s recent settlement with Nomi Technologies Inc. is, as the FTC’s press release notes, the “FTC’s first against a retail tracking company.” On… Continue Reading

The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award-winning guide to the law and business of social media, we discuss a recent decision in Virginia protecting the anonymity of Yelp users; we examine the FTC’s much anticipated report, “Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World;”… Continue Reading

OK, Socially Aware readers, we’ve got a pop-culture quiz for you today. How many of the following names are familiar to you? Smosh The Fine Brothers PewDiePie KSI Ryan Higa If any of those monikers rings a bell, we’re guessing you’re a millennial, the parent of a millennial or a marketer who targets millennials. Those… Continue Reading

As consumers increasingly connect to the Internet using multiple devices—such as mobile phones, tablets, computers, TVs and wearable devices—advertising technology companies have rapidly developed capabilities to reach the same consumers across their various devices. Such “cross-device” tracking enables companies to target ads to the same consumer regardless of the platform, device, or application being used…. Continue Reading

Social media is transforming the way companies interact with consumers. Learn how to make the most of these online opportunities while minimizing your company’s risk at Practicing Law Institute’s (PLI) 2015 Social Media conference, chaired by Socially Aware editor John Delaney. This year’s program features speakers from American Express, BuzzFeed, Dell, and Foursquare. There will also be a “Meet the Regulators”… Continue Reading

The latest issue of our Socially Aware newsletter is now available here. In this issue of Socially Aware, our Burton Award-winning guide to the law and business of social media, we discuss key–and often ignored–legal concerns regarding social media assets in M&A transactions; we explore whether anti-Glass hysteria may have doomed Google Glass; we highlight a landmark case finding that… Continue Reading

The FTC has released its much anticipated report on the Internet of Things (“IoT”) – a topic that has been top-of-mind for many companies. The FTC’s report, “Internet of Things: Privacy & Security in a Connected World” (the “Report”), discusses the benefits and risks associated with IoT, and addresses the privacy and data security measures… Continue Reading

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has once again made good on its promise to enforce against deceptive advertising under Section 5 of the FTC Act, regardless of the media in which the advertising appears: Its recently announced proposed complaint and draft settlement with the advertising firm Deutsch LA, Inc. involves endorsements posted by social media… Continue Reading

About Socially Aware

Social media sites are transforming not only the daily lives of consumers, but also how companies interact with consumers. Here at Morrison & Foerster, across all of our practice groups, we are seeing complex, cutting-edge legal issues arising out of social media. As with the Internet boom during the mid-to-late 1990s, social media is generating new legal questions at a far faster pace than the law’s ability to provide answers to such questions. In an effort to stay on top of these emerging issues, and to keep our clients and friends informed of new developments, Morrison & Foerster publishes this blog devoted to the law and business of social media.

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